Companies in the Silicon Valley aren’t just in a race to build the best and brightest inventions… they’re also fighting for the best employees. As the competition heats up, we’re seeing more and more awesome employee perks.

Why are company perks so important? Well, for one, they keep employees happy. The Silicon Valley has a very dense population of technology companies, ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies. All of these companies are hiring for similar engineering positions. Retaining good engineers far outweighs the cost of these perks. Secondly, convenient perks keep employees focused. For companies like Google, Microsoft, and Facebook that have everything an employee could need on campus, they’ll be able to focus their energies on producing great work…rather than heading out at 5 o’clock on the dot to get their hair cut.

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Here are a few examples of crazy cool perks that Silicon Valley tech companies offer:

Google

Google might be the most notorious player in the employee perk game. It all started at their Googleplex in Mountain View, California. The Googleplex is over 2 million square feet of pure Google goodness. It essentially could stand as a self-sustaining town. Google offers completely free meals for all employees; breakfast, lunch and dinner (and we’ve heard, the food is excellent). With all that free food, what better way to work it off than in one of their completely free gyms, or a ride on a Google bike? Google offers different services for employees such as haircuts, laundry, even onsite doctors! Google also takes care of their employees’ families. Beyond an extended leave when a child is born, if a Googler dies, their family gets a portion of their salary for 10 years. That’s a pretty awesome way to show your employees that you care!

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Facebook

When it comes to perks, Facebook is neck and neck with Google. They’ve got barber shops, cafes with a variety of food, and video arcades to relieve stress. Facebook offers a long maternity and paternity leave for new parents, and even provides a baby cash bonus to offset the costs. One of the coolest things Facebook offers is the weekly Q&A with Mark Zuckerberg himself. This increases transparency throughout the company, and gives all of the employees the opportunity to learn from the legend himself.

Microsoft

Not only did Microsoft have great benefits in 2015, they’re expanding them even more in 2016. This ranges from tripling their paid parental leave to increasing their 401k match to up to $9,000 a year. With a focus on wellness, Microsoft offers free flu shots along with free health screenings on-site. If that wasn’t enough, on Microsoft’s campus they have dry-cleaning, spas, 11 different restaurants, 33 cafes and 500 kitchenettes. There’s no trouble getting to work, either, with their wide-ranging shuttle and bus options. Microsoft truly seems to offer its employees a well-rounded, complete package.

What are some of the coolest employee perks you’ve come across in the Silicon Valley? Let us know in the comments!

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If you’re interested in learning more about finding an engineering position at awesome Silicon Valley companies, send your resume to quickapply@erginc.com. You can also visit our job board for open engineering positions.